PutterPing Karsten TR Zing, 32” long

BagTaylormade SLDR S Tour Bag

BallTitleist Pro-V1 X

GloveFootjoy StaSoft, Ladies Small

Range FinderBushnell Tour v3 Slope Edition

Clothes
Antigua Clothing

ShoesFootjoy Myjoys

Hat/VisorTaylormade

SunglassesOakleys/Bollé

GOLF TIP # 1

Attitude

No matter how much you practice the right thing, nothing is guaranteed. And no matter how perfect the conditions are, the balanced golf ball, the perfect putting stroke, perfect weather and the perfect putter. No matter how perfect everything is, one day that golf ball will drop in the hole and the next day, under the same conditions and circumstances, the ball may not drop in the hole. The best way to combat those days are to laugh, laugh, have a great ATTITUDE and laugh again.

Golf….like life, is not a game of perfect!

Attitude….the only thing that can never be defeated!

GOLF TIP # 2

Tap In To Your Own World!

Concentration…Focus…In the Zone…What do they all have in common? Before I tell you let me ask you a question. What was it that made us motivated as a child?

To play golf we have to deal with a lot of outside circumstances that can side track us from what it is we need to do. (Which is to get the golf ball in the hole!) There is no doubt that it is harder to focus when we are not having fun. So how do we tap into our own world? How do we get into the zone?

First of all, imagine what it would be like if you where playing eighteen holes of golf and during the whole round no one could penetrate your space, no matter what anyone said to you. Nothing mattered because you where so focused on getting the golf ball in the cup; you were soo relaxed…no bills to pay…no kids to worry about…no business deadlines to meet…no worries about where the next paycheck was coming from…no taxes to pay…no responsibilities at all.

WAIT!! Did I say no responsibilities at all? Can I go back to the question that I asked you before about what it was that made us all highly motivated as a child? No responsibilities. Would you agree that it is a lot easier to have fun when you have nothing to worry about or nothing to lose? Or should I say that having fun keeps us from worrying. If a young child is having fun, that child does not have the time to worry because they are always in the present! They are totally focused in the moment.

Tapping into your own world and being totally focused on one thing at a time, however long that may be, is tapping into the zone. Time is suspended and it is easy to have fun. Because we are having fun, we become soo focused or zoned in on what we are doing, that it really takes no effort at all!

I know from experience that when I start making a couple of bogeys I begin to look for an escape goat or an easy way out. So the easiest thing to put the blame on is the golf swing. Or I will try to put the blame on the other players in the group or those kids yelling and screaming and having fun in the playground across the street from the golf course. I begin to lose my focus or my concentration because making bogeys is no fun.

There are two ways that I have learned to face my fear of losing focus or stepping out of my world. The first is to practice over and over the thoughts that I want to think about on a daily basis or to practice over and over the kind of golf game that I want to shoot. I want to predict my circumstances before they predict me. By thinking about the great drives that I have hit in tournament golf on a daily basis, for about one month, I will have prepared myself to go out on a golf course and perform as I have predicted (or as I have thought about).

No matter how much you practice there might be those days when things just do not come together. What do you do then? The answer is in GOLF TIP # 1

GOLF TIP # 3

Tension

IF we all knew how to rid ourselves of tension then we could patent the idea and make millions. Tension is the root of all evil in the golf swing!

Instead of trying to find the perfect golf swing that everybody says will cure all of your tension problems, learn how to deal with tension itself. Find out what it is that causes the tension. I know that when I drink too much coffee in the morning before a round of golf I definitely get the jitters and it usually doesn’t wear off until seven or eight holes later.

Whatever is bothering you, just go over to the driving range and just take the driver out and just start ripping it!! That ought to release some tension. Or use visualization techniques to release the tension. Imagine that you are in the Bahamas and all of your cares are washing away in the sea. Add positive affirmations and your’re back in the zone.

What about when you force a certain shot on the golf course? For example, when you are in the greenside bunker and the pin is right up against the bunker and knowing that it is impossible to get the golf ball close to the hole you go ahead anyway and force the shot out of the bunker. If you try to get the ball close to the hole, instead of just trying to get the ball on the green. You usually end up back in the bunker and having to hit again. Because you have to hit again, you get a little up tight about the fact that your playing partners are witnessing your terrible performance out of the greenside bunker plus, your even more disgusted with yourself because you know that you are a pretty good bunker player. Just getting the ball out of the bunker can save you from self-destruction. The worst that could happen is you would two-putt with a calm attitude.

After long and countless hours of 110% of pure effort towards achieving a perfect computer-model golf swing, I have desired to learn that an 80% effortless swing will more than fullfill and produce the goal of getting the golf ball in the cup. Which is the objective of the game. Tempo reduces tension. To focus on only trying to hit the golf ball 80% of my effort enables me to reduce any tension in my golf swing. As the 80% effortless golf swing calmly forces me to free up my muscles I then begin to swing more according to my own mental and physical capabilities.

Different people have different tempos. Some are fast and some are slow . Use whichever one works for you!

GOLF TIP # 4

Enjoy yourself

The more I play, the more I learn that having fun has to be one of the most important parts of playing the game of golf. When golf is my career, and I spend hours a day either practicing or playing, I have to enjoy myself otherwise it becomes a chore. I have to say, I do have one of the best jobs I could ask for- so how could I not be having fun everyday? Yes, there are days when things don’t go the way you would like but those are the days when its even more important to remind yourself to have fun… You are obviously going to be enjoying yourself on the days you are playing well! At the end of the day, there are more important things in life than a bad round of golf.

I am also starting to realise that having fun on the golf course allows me to play better. This goes hand in hand with tension. When you are having fun you are a lot more relaxed and you are able to swing much more freely and in return you produce more successful shots.

At the end of the day golf is to be enjoyed and not a form of torture so next time you go out and play just remember its only a game so just have fun